The searches carried out on Wednesday at the Cascais chamber were based on an audit by the Court of Auditors, which suspected an undue benefit to the company ShiningJoy, giving it a “privileged position” in the purchase of three properties at cost.
According to the Ministry of State (MP), the searches targeted the municipal company Cascais Proxima, the organic divisions of the Chamber of Cascais, “some elements associated with these organizations and two private companies.”
“With qualifications that are still preliminary and dependent on more definitive evidence,” and without identifying the accused, crimes related to passive and active corruption, economic participation in business, malfeasance and abuse of power may be at stake, while the accused have not yet been identified, he pointed out.
The facts under investigation “occurred between May 7, 2020 and May 2, 2022” and “concerned suspicions of obtaining undue benefits from a private company owned by a foreign citizen” by selling that company “at cost and without any official government procurement procedure for real estate and furniture purchased by the municipality of Cascais and structured as a production unit for the production of surgical masks,” the deputy summarized in the note.
This investigation, carried out by a deputy following suspicions arising from an audit by the Court of Auditors (TdC) of the matter, identified the President of the Chamber of Cascais himself, emphasizing that the municipality disputed the TdC report because it believed that “there were no irregularities.” .
In a preliminary version of the audit, which Lusa had access to, TdC concluded in June 2022 that “the economic interest of the municipality was not taken into account because the maximization of the income that could arise from the sale of the property was not ensured.”
“A sale under the conditions described may result in damage to the public treasury through the failure to value the relevant real estate assets, behavior which may ultimately indicate the practice of the crime of mismanagement” since “the economic rules of management were not observed to be rational” or “even malfeasance” , since “there may have been an intention on the part of the official to benefit ShiningJoy,” TdC said.
The case concerns the approval (June 9, 2020) of the purchase by the Cascais City Council of two warehouses and adjacent land for a total cost of 1.750 million euros (ME) with the aim of locating a mask production plant there. , in the midst of a pandemic and when there was a shortage of this method of personal protection.
Following the completion of the purchase, on January 28, 2021, the municipality transferred the management of the production plant on credit to the municipal company Cascais Próxima, and the latter signed an agreement four days later to transfer management of the factory to ShiningJoy, a company consisting of three real estate companies.
According to TdC, this subleasing business has some peculiarities.
The cost of the plant (excluding buildings) was estimated at more than one million euros (later the cost decreased to 890.5 thousand euros due to the breakdown of two machines), however, payment by Cascais Próxima, according to TdC, will be in kind through the delivery of 6. 5 million masks to the municipality during 2021.
TdC stressed that in this business, Cascais Próxima is not obliged to comply with the code of public contracts, but, by carrying out a direct sale of ShiningJoy without respecting the principle of competition, it did not provide equal opportunities for potential stakeholders and does not adopt mechanisms for transparent recruitment processes.
However, TdC warns of another feature of the business: the transfer of the plant to a private company also implied the latter’s purchase of two warehouses and land at the price that the Chamber paid for them.
Thus, ShiningJoy acquired the status of priority in the purchase of warehouses and land thanks to the retention of the factory, TdC emphasized, emphasizing that the contract also stipulated that if the real estate transaction did not go through for reasons depending on the municipality, it would also have to reverse reverse the factory business.
“Cascais Proxima, which was “paid” with masks, will have to buy it back on a monetary basis,” which would pose “a needless risk to public interests,” he said.
TdC therefore suspected that the real purpose of the business might simply be real estate.
“In fact, we are talking about a transaction for the direct sale of three properties to ShiningJoy at cost without interference from other agents potentially interested in the properties,” he emphasized.
The company also added that the sale of real estate lacks “economic rationality, since it does not ensure the profitability of municipal assets.”
“When selling at cost and without using a competitive procedure, the municipality did not guarantee the fair value of the objects,” which indicates a violation of the principles of good governance, competition and transparency, he believes.
TdC carried out this investigation as part of its reviews of contracts signed during the exceptional public procurement regime in order to urgently respond to the impact of the pandemic.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Sandra Hansen, a news website Author and Reporter for 24 News Reporters. I have over 7 years of experience in the journalism field, with an extensive background in politics and political science. My passion is to tell stories that are important to people around the globe and to engage readers with compelling content.